good morning, i'm willie geist with another special edition of "way too early with willie geist," live again for a final moon at the saloon a block away from the arena where president obama spoke last night. with both party's conventions finished, labor day behind us, we turn for the home stretch of this presidential campaign. we'll go through the president's speech and talk about what will happen between now and election day with john heilemann in just a minute. we'll also show you the moment that threatened to steal the show from the president when former arizona congresswoman, gabby giffords, 20 months after she was shot in the head, led the audience in the pledge of allegiance. that clip in its entirety later. but we begin with president obama and closing argument. 20,000 supporters packing into the convention hall. the president accepted his party's nomination for a second term. after a warm krupp from vice president biden, he offered a defense to his policies, saying he now needs more time to build on the progress he's made.

>> if you reject the notion that this nation's promise is reserved for the few, your voice must be heard in this election. if you reject the notion that our government is forever beholden to the highest bidder, you need to stand up in this election. if you believe in a country where everyone gets a fair shot and everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same rules, then i need you to vote this november. >> borrowing a quote from abraham lincoln, president obama acknowledges the challenges of his own presidency, declaring things have, indeed, he says, changed from four years ago. >> times have changed and so have i. i'm no longer just a candidate. i'm the president. [ cheers and applause ] and that means i know what it means to send young americans into battle, for i've held in my

arms mothers and fathers of those who didn't return. i've shared the pain of families who have lost their homes and the frustration of workers who have lost their jobs. if the critics are right that i made all my decisions based on polls, then i must not be very good at reading them. and while i'm very proud of what we've achieved together, i'm far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what lincoln meant when he said "i have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that i had no place else to go." but as i stand here tonight, i have never been more hopeful about america, not because i think i have all the answers, not because i'm naive about the

magnitude of our challenges. i'm hopeful because of you. >> and there was a theme throughout the night and really throughout the convention of a tribute to our armed forces after mitt romney made no mentn of afghanistan during his acceptance speech in tampa last week. president obama keyed in, praising the troops in the war zone while mocking his opponent's recent foreign policy tour. >> we are forever in debt to a generation's sacrifice that's made this country safer and more respected. we will never forget you. and so long as i'm commander in chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known. when you take off the uniform, we will serve you as well as you've served us, because no one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their heads or the care that they need when they come home. my opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy.

but from all that we've seen and heard, they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost america so dearly. after all, you don't call russia our number one enemy, not al qaeda, russia, unless you're still stuck in a cold war mind warp. you might not be ready for diplomacy with beijing if you can't visit the olympics without insulting our closest ally. >> president obama said the trip was more like a blooper reel for mitt romney. before the president, we heard from his running mate, joe biden. he gave a speech highlighting the rescue of the auto industry, among other things. the vice president issuing a warning to the republican ticket when talking about the direction of this country. >> one more thing our republican

opponents are just dead wrong about -- america is not in decline. america is not in decline! i've got news for governor romney and congressman ryan. gentlemen, never, ever, it never makes sense, it's never been a good bet to bet against the american people. never! my fellow americans, america is coming back, and we're not going back! and we have no intention of downsizing the american dream. >> joining me now, national affairs editor for "new york magazine," msnbc political analyst john heilemann, co-author with mark halperin in "game change" with the sequel to come in 2012.

first impressions. last night, president obama, it was not the soaring rhetoric of 2008 in the football stadium. what was it? >> more 2004, in boston, of course, the speech that made him famous. i think it was -- those are lofty expectations and some more lofty expectations got set up by bill clinton and by his wife, michelle. i don't think he quite cleared that bar to any of those speeches. he didn't get the altitude that you've seen him get at his best, and it felt to me like it was not a great speech by any means. it's not a bad speech. it was a workman-like speech, i think, more than anything, and it felt a lot for much of it like a state of the union address. i think the biggest problem with it was that the two big opportunities he had were to define the republican agenda in a specific way. he did that pretty well, as bill clinton did the night before. what i think he missed the opportunity to do was really define his own agenda going forward in a more detailed or

grander way. it had a kind of gauzy, goal-setting kind of feel to it, but i still think for a lot of voters, and certainly for a lot of voters who are undecided, they're hungry for more detail. the reason why president clinton's speech worked so well was the degree of lunky, policy-driven detail he got into. i think there were a lot of people out there, especially those who haven't decided yet, who would be happy to see the president be a little more specificer and maybe grander in terms of laying out this is what i'm going to give you in the next four years, than he did last night. >> he talked about creating a million new manufacturing jobs. did we learn anything more specifically that we didn't know? was there anything new in the speech? >> that's what i mean, i think there was little new in that sense. and i think you can talk about, to set goals, we want "x" number of more teachers, "x" number more jobs. the thing is, anybody can say that, mitt romney, willie geist can say that, but the question is how are we going to do that? and i don't think he put that kind of meat on the skeleton that would be satisfying for people who wanted more. >> it struck me listening to him speak, and earlier over the

course of the week, that he's trying to make this not so much a referendum over his last four years, but a choice between him and mitt romney. let's not specifically look at the record over the last four years, but you don't want this guy coming in right now. >> right. he used the word choice ten times and choose ten more times in the speech, so that was a contain refrain. obviously, that's their frame, choice versus referendum. and i think romney and ryan have accepted the choice framing, but that was a big part of the speech last night. it was very, i thought, a little heavy-handed the way it was executed. he kept coming back to it -- now we face this choice, now we face that choice, now we must choose. but i think maybe that that is, has to be for a lot of what the scientists call low information voters, who haven't been paying much attention, you kind of have to hit them over the head with it to get through. >> senator john kerry last night, maybe one of the better speeches. he accepted the party's nomination eight years ago, talking about foreign policy and

showing some charisma, i think, john, that maybe people wondered where it was eight years ago. >> after more than ten years without justice for thousands of americans murdered on 9/11, after mitt romney said it would be naive to go in to pakistan to pursue the terrorists, it took president obama against the advice of many to give that order and finally rid this earth of osama bin laden. ask osama bin laden if he is better off now than he was four years ago. >> by the way, it was john kerry who said that mitt romney's trip overseas looked like a blooper reel last night, not the president. did john kerry lock up the secretary of state job last night? >> you know, john kerry wants to be secretary of the state the way that you want to either be the quarterback of the new york giants or the owner of a strip club.

but, so, he -- that's to say he -- >> giants, giants. >> that's to say he wants it bad. i don't think he's locked it up, because the truth is he wanted it up last time around, snatched away by hillary clinton. he has a formidable competitor in susan rice, very close to valerie jarrett, the president, very close to both of them. she's got a lot of internal champions and everybody in the administration says she knows the president's mind in a way that john kerry, as respectable as he is, is not. and i would continue to give her the inside track on that job. >> well, if he doesn't get it, he and i can go together in on the strip club. >> he would be a good partner for you. >> that would work out nicely. before break, an incredible moment, regardless of party, you couldn't help but appreciate this. former congresswoman of arizona, gabby giffords, still recovering from the shooting in tucson from january of last year, 20 months ago, appeared on stage with her friend, debbie wasserman schultz, ahead of the dnc,

leading the audience in the pledge of allegiance. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america. and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. [ cheers and applause ] >> that's just an incredible moment. you hear it in here, tears in people's eyes, people clapping at 5:30 in the morning. >> and much deserved. >> john, thanks so much. we'll talk to you in just a

minute on "morning joe." still ahead on "way too early" when we come back to charlotte. in sports, the nationals are great, the cubs are just horrible. last night they brawled. we'll show you, ahead in sports. plus -- >> when america needed it most, who got us rolling again on the road to recovery? >> whoo! former michigan governor jennifer granholm gives a speech that is quite literally still ringing in the ears of those in the convention hall. that can't-miss clip and a check of weather when we come back from charlotte. ♪ the shooting took place while shackure was on his way to a party following the mike tyson fight. the 25-year-old rapper was in the back seat of a black bmw,

part of an informal convoy of ten cars, when las vegas police say shots were fired from a passing white cadillac. idide?

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wells fargo. together we'll go far. welcome back inside the saloon here in charlotte. the convention has wrapped up, and yes, the drinking has begun inside this bar. the pouring of bloodies early this morning, pouring a lot of them. i'm worried about this crowd. pace yourself! we've got 3 1/2 hours. let's go to new york for a check of weather with bill karins. >> well, did they ever stop drinking, i guess is the question, willie. as far as the forecast, everyone in charlotte and everyone on the east coast, this is the weekend we've been waiting for. the humidity is going to go away by the time the weekend ends. we have to wait for the cold front to go through and with it, storms. in iowa, worst weather in the country, from i-80 in the quad

cities spreading into illinois. they may run into chicago through your morning commute, so keep that in mind, anyone leaving in chicago or anyone who has to catch a flight there early today. the weekend forecast watches nice conditions out there. we're watching the coolest air by far in the northern plains and then that's going to sweep across the country as the weekend progresses. look at chicago and kansas city, even dallas, finally out of the 100s into the 80s. and willie, it looks like everyone's reward on the eastern seaboard will come on sunday, even in charlotte with a high of 80 and much lower humidity. so, the weekend we've all been waiting for, fall finally arrives. >> all right, looks like a tough weekend though weatherwise with some rain. bill, thank you. turning to sports, after losing a ten-game lead over a month and a half, the yankees last night began their crucial four-game series with the orioles at camden yards, one game up for the a.l. east lead heading into this and the orioles not wasting any time. matt weeders launched a

three-run home run to the opposite field in the first inning to give the orioles the 4-0 early lead. yankees rallied for five runs in the eighth inning, capped by ichiro's two-run single to tie the game at 6. but in the bottom frame in the eighth, adam jones with the play, hits a home run into the left field seats. orioles hit six home runs in this game off yankee pitching and they beat the yanks 10-6. yankees and orioles now tied again atop the a.l. east. they'll have three more games against each other over the weekend. nationals going for the sweep of the cubs, but who isn't? and things start to get a little testy. a couple coaches jawing at each other, the benches, the bull pens clear, and nothing happens. kind of a standoff here. lots of people standing around milling about the field. nobody seems to know what to do except talk. apparently, there was still some animosity left over. bryce harper takes a couple steps towards the mound after a pitch inside. the benches and bull pens come out again.

this time, a little pushing and shoving, a little better, nothing too bad. broken up quickly but a nationals player and two cubs tossed in the game. nats win 9-2 and are solidly in first place in the n.l. east. the cubs, on the other hand, 35 games below .500. some good news to report for oakland a's pitcher brandon mccarthy, who underwent successful surgery on his skull yesterday. did you see this? it's a little tough to watch. he took a line drive to the head on wednesday. >> aybar lines one of mccarthy, it ricochets to donaldson to get the out. mccarthy's down. >> the a's said yesterday mccarthy in stable condition, alert in the critical care unit of a bay area hospital following a two-hour surgery to retear a skull fracture and a brain contusion. the team did not give a timetable for the 29-year-old mccarthy might be able to return to action, but the bottom line is he's okay, he's going to be all right. terrible looking moment there. finally, you know we don't condone betting on sports unless

you like money and excitement, but if you've taken a look at the line for sixth-ranked florida state's game with savannah state tomorrow, we're here to confirm it's not a typo. the 'noles are a 70 1/2-point favorite over savannah state. that makes savannah state the single biggest underdog in the history of college football. and if you think the seminoles have no chance to cover, keep in mind, savannah state lost to oklahoma state last week by the score of 84-0. 84-0. prior to this game, the biggest threat in college football came in 2007 when hawaii was favored by 60 over northern colorado. coming up at the top of the hour on "morning joe," president obama closes the democratic national convention and the campaign heads for the final stretch. so, what did we learn new from the president last night? we'll knock that around with joe, mika and our "morning joe" crew. and when we come back here, we'll huddle around the water cooler where john kerry suggests drago-style, he must break you. a "rocky iv" reference makes its

way into the dnc when "way too early" comes right back to charlotte. [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be nice if there was an easier, less expensive option than a traditional lawyer? at legalzoom you get personalized services for your family and your business that's 100% guaranteed. so go to legalzoom.com today

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feel the cold coming on? take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations and call us in the morning. >> welcome back to charlotte. we're inside the black fin saloon, and once again, you've seen it every time this week. mi mika brzezkinski where she is most comfortable in the world, seated not at the bar, but on the bar. she can't get close enough to the booze. we're pouring bloodies this morning. no, no straight vodka yet, mika, not until 6:00 a.m. you know the rules. have to have a mixer before 6:00 in the morning. >> you're rigid, aren't you? >> drink up. democratic national convention, as you know, closed last night with president obama's speech. the president askg for more time to solve the country's problems. his choice of words, though, a bit different from his rhetoric of 2008. if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends, according to "the new york times," president obama used the word promise just seven times in his speech last night, compared to 32 times during his

acceptance speech in denver four years ago. among the things he did promise were a million new manufacturing jobs and $4 trillion in deficit reduction. enough of the real news, let's huddle up around the water cooler to watch senator john kerry winning the hearts of cold war movie fans by dropping a "rocky iv" reference into his speech as he knocked mitt romney. >> he's even blurted out the preposterous notion that russia is our number one political, geopolitical foe. folks, sarah palin said she could see russia from alaska. mitt romney talks like he's only seen russia by watching "rocky iv"! >> by the way, most of us actually learned about the cold war from rocky's battle with this man, ivan drago. bottom line, americans work hard and train by carrying logs up mountains, while commies have crew cuts and always lose in the end. that was the cold war in a

nutshell, courtesy of "rocky iv." sarah palin, by the way, was not into being name-checked in the speech, saying "i think he diminished himself by even mentioning my name." before the president ever took the stage last night, former michigan governor jennifer granholm fired up the crowd. >> now, sure, sure, mitt romney loves our lakes and our trees, he loves our cars so much, they even have their own elevator. in romney's world, the cars get the elevator and the workers get the shaft! sure, he's made a lot of money. good for him. good for him. or maybe i should say good for him. president obama, with the auto rescue, you know, he saved more than 1 million american jobs. but it wasn't just michigan. hey, hey, hey! in florida, 35,000 jobs!

in ohio, 150,000 jobs! manufacturing is rebounding! why? and on your ballot, the "d" is for drag forward, the "r" is for reverse. in this election, we are driving forward, not back. let's re-elect our great president barack obama! >> hey, hey, hey, she says! still ahead on "way too early," why are you awake? your e-mails are next. jack, you're a little boring.

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